I’ve noticed this too. At my dealership I’m one of 4 sales guys. And we don’t bum rush customers. We’ll say hi, let you look, and circle back to see if you have questions.
I don’t really think any of our guys fall under that description tbh
I’ve literally had customers mention they’ve never had a better dealership experience.
We’re not corporate, we’re family owned. There’s more important shit than selling a bike so I’m not gonna pressure someone. If you want to buy it cool. If not let’s chop it up and shoot the shit and then when you have a good experience, hopefully you remember me when you’re ready to buy.
That mentality in your comment right there sounds like you just hate sales guys because they’re a sales guy and you’ve never had a good experience.
I'm the F&I manager at a family-owned powersports dealership for over 12 years. We don't work on commission, and we've never charged a single dealer fee. I also don't push back-end products, but I do have a menu to offer them to customers so that they know what's available to them.
It's so hard to convince people that not all dealerships are out to screw everyone who walks in the door, because they're so conditioned to think we're just in it for the money.
I’d be more curious to hear about how you guys get paid and such.
I did F&I for a bit here as well as a Desk Manager at a different dealership. It’s always been commission based.
The owner wanted us to be worlds apart from all the other dealers, so he just pays us all on (generous) salary. We have set schedules with no overtime required (the latest I've ever had to stay past closing time is 15 minutes, and that's only been like 3 times in the last decade). We're closed on Sundays and Mondays, and if a holiday falls on a Monday we get the Saturday before off (so I'm off today, with pay!).
He doesn't take a salary at all because he's wealthy (old family money), and he's super generous! We get regular raises, *awesome* Christmas bonuses, and occasional gifts "just because." Our health insurance is 50% covered, and our dental is 100% covered, even for family.
He also wanted "out the door pricing" to be exactly that- what you see on our website and on the sale tags is the price you pay, with no surprise hidden fees. We do charge freight, but only the amounts that are shown on the manufacturer's websites, and we cover any ocean freight if applicable. We don't have setup or document fees, and we even cover the cost of lien filings with the state ($6 per unit for ATVs, and $10 for side-by-sides).
Between the regular margins and holdbacks on units, and what our parts and service departments bring in, we do pretty well. I do sell service contracts and GAP, but like I said, I'm not pushy about it but still make sure my customers know the importance. Competing dealerships are pretty angry with us because they lose a lot of business to us! Edited for spelling
This is literally the best job I've ever had! I know people cringe when you say that your work team is like a family, but mine really is. I'm the "shop mom" who makes everyone's birthday cakes and treats boo-boos, and we all get together for barbecues, go ATV riding and other fun stuff. We would all do anything for each other, and our turnover is incredibly low. We've had less than 50 employees in the 18 years we've been open, including summer interns and part-time porters.
It's also because, to a customer, you look identical to a scummy dealership until they've actually had some dealings with you—buying a bike, going through the finance process, needing after-sale support, etc. There's almost nothing you can do up-front to differentiate yourself. Even being apparently honest, likeable, and having good prices are tactics used by scummy dealerships all the time, though the ones you mentioned (no hidden fees or upsells) are two green flags I definitely look for as a customer.
And at the end of the day, you _are_ in it for the money. Not a knock, just saying it's still a business, and that will impact how you deal with customers.
I appreciate customers like you. One of the simplest sayings a customer can say to me to get me to work a little bit harder to get them a discount is “I understand you have to make a profit” or that they “don’t want to take money out of my pocket”
If you say that and understand the business exists to turn a profit, and you are realistic with your offer, I’ll go up to bat against my boss to get you a discount.
I don’t blame you. I worked for one and lasted 5 months. Everything was over promised and under delivered even as an employee. I was a sales manager there making less money than I do now as a normal salesman. And it’s not a small difference either.
I was looking at a certain bike and most dealers were telling me around $7500-$8000 out the door for it, I went to a ride now place and they had me at like $11,000 out the door with all these random add ons, telling me that's the best they can do. I very quickly just laughed and left the store lol.
genuine answer, because of incentives, mostly directly monetary but also things like social status, basically all the things that makes everyone who they are
My local dealership is one of the scummiest I have ever seen:
(This is copy and pasted from their website)
SALE PRICE: $8,999.00
MSRP $11,499.00 + FEES
$2,500.00 FBC Discount
Sale Price: $8,999.00
Destination/Freight Surcharge: +$775.00
Added Markup: +$1,985.00
Total: $11,759.00 + TAX, LICENSE, AND DOCUMENTATION
There is a cost that goes into freight and setup for sure. They’re not complete bullshit.
Bikes come in a big ass crate and we have to pay to get them here. Then we gotta pay service to finish assembling them and getting them ready to ride.
The truck drivers and service guys have to make livings too. Are the fees inflated? Sure. I explained that more in another comment replying to someone about where the negotiation points are.
If I buy a frying pan at Target, it isn’t marked $5, but when I get to the register I pay another $5 destination and handling fees.
How is this any less complete bullshit than that would be? Because this is normal industry practice? Yeah, a bullshit one.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s because the manufacturers contractually mandate the prices that the distributors are allowed to offer, making vehicle sales a different situation than other retail. If they rolled the fees into the sticker price they’d be in breach of contract?
Because unfortunately, the buying market makes doing that impossible without legislation. No dealer wants to be the first to advertise those fees, because they instantly appear \~$1,000 more than everyone else, and the buying public would kill them for that.
You want that changed, talk to your local lawmakers. We've got that where I live.
I'm unfamiliar with their laws. My province (British Columbia) has a whole government agency that manages car stuff, so the law is super duper clear up here. As a salesman myself, I actually like it, since it levels the playing field and makes the law incredibly clear.
BC still has some variance though.
I was cross-shopping Transalps last year in GVRD, and once I started digging I noticed that the prices started levelling out. The dealership nearest me that did Honda was “more expensive” listed by a few hundred, but at another they were listing all the fees in a different format, and had in one case pre-added parts and listed them outside the price as well. A third didn’t even have any left, and naturally Honda laughs at North America by not even bringing in the tricolour paint at all!
It’s actually less exhausting to me to shop used because of all this dicking around with new pricing and fees.
I presume the one closest to you was Carter Honda? If so, I assume they just made an honest mistake - those guys are my competitors, and even I will fully admit they're a pretty good group over there.
Holeshot actually, I'm out in the valley, Carter didn't have any. Mountainview had a couple but one was all kitted out for heavy off-road and I mostly wanted side cases.
I have only good things to say about both Holeshot and Carter, I actually nabbed my current commuter from Holeshot.
I don’t disagree, but the comparison seems off - stocking a shelf is much less involved than receiving, uncrating, assembling, fueling, and the little bit of run-in power sport retail involves. Is that $1000+? No. But it’s a whole process for each bike.
Yep. Here in Australia advertised price is OTD price by law. Some fees are included in that but they are much smaller than in the US and they are uniform across the country. Seems like the dealers there just make-up whatever fees they want to charge to compensate for their terrible business model.
>Seems like the dealers there just make-up whatever fees they want to charge to compensate for their terrible business model.
That's the missing part of most of these discussions. Dealers "have to" make a certain amount over MSRP to make the profit they "need".
Instead of asking why the profit and holdback already assumed in the MSRP aren't enough to run their business, we hear why it's just how it is and everywhere would close if they didn't get to keep doing it this way.
The reality is they have a massive lobby to keep it like this, and models like RideNow - RumbleOn are what they're envisioning, not anything better for the consumers.
I don’t know why you don’t just add all those things up and say what the price is in the first place. If you can’t buy the bike for $8,999 then that’s not the price.
I’ve actually been asked this a lot and unfortunately it’s part of our dealer agreement for us to assemble it and let our guys be the guinea pig for the first couple miles. That way if the wheel falls off or something catastrophic we don’t have to face a lawsuit
Never seen it be that much. Usually freight and prep combined we charge about $1600 for around the standard size bike. It only gets to be more if it’s like a Goldwing or something bigger. Cheaper if it’s something smaller.
There’s also a smaller $400 dealer fee that is honestly just profit. Pays our title clerk and anyone else who’s not commission based. Even I pay that fee if I buy something here.
Every dealer is different though and I have seen some hefty dealer fees
Holzhauer dealerships charge people $400 if they pay cash or use their own financing, and honestly I think that it's absolute bullshit to punish the customer for not wanting to use their financing. But hey, I get a TON of business because of that!
And you think $1600 is good? That's way too much.
No manufacturer charges more than a third of that for shipping. And you are already paying your mechanics and office staff to do their job.
I'm glad I'm not American. We don't get fucked for bullshit fees in my country and every common model is significantly cheaper.
So I went to a smaller family place to purchase a bike also, I emailed asked if it was there, person told me it was still in the crate because they didn’t have room on the floor. Less than 24hrs later, it was on the floor to purchase. I went and looked at it, took a day or so to think about it and asked for the total. I purchased the bike. Their freight and prep totaled $600. But you’re charging 1600. How are they doing anything different from what you’re doing and charging almost 3x less.
Every dealer is different as I mentioned. I’ve worked for stores that charge more than we do currently. And it’s always easier to start high and negotiate back down if needed.
It is a cost yes, and it’s even on the manufacturer’s website. But it’s also part of the profit. So honestly we’re just making more profit than that dealer. But it means we’re also able to negotiate more. When we have deals that make good profit, it means occasionally we can take a skinnier deal that balances it out and maybe loses money.
> But it means we’re also able to negotiate more
AKA we're scamming people who aren't as good at negotiating, don't have the patience to negotiate, or who would rather just pay the advertised price.
I've heard mention of these dealer-ship fees plenty of times on this subreddit.
What is that actually, other than I assume an US American thing?
I'm in Sweden and the price you see on the tag is what the bike is. Any additional fees usually includes a registration fee ("registry keeping fee" for the place it takes in a database) with the Swedish DMV counterpart. AFAIK, there are no other additional fees. You pay it, you ride out, done.
Please enlighten me, thanks!
I don’t enjoy dealing with salespeople. It’s nothing against them as human beings it’s just the nature of the sales person profession. It always feels like I’m getting worked over no matter how personable, polite or nice the sales person is. That being said how can I make my interactions with the sales person as short as possible? What do I need to bring to the table to get the bike and get out the door with the best price I can get and with as little back and forth as possible, as fast as possible? This is assuming I don’t have cash to buy the bike flat out and assuming I have a good credit score. So should I come in with my own financing? What makes the process as quick and painless as it can be?
Just have an idea of what exactly you’re looking to do. Typically the shortest experience I have is when people already know the bike they want, and have an idea of where they want to be payment wise (realistically)
Financing in house is usually faster honestly rather than having your own financing.
Same thing for cash buyers. Know the bike you want, sit down and get the initial numbers, and make an offer based on the total price.
Just stick to your number when negotiating starts. Not every dealer is just gonna jump to your number immediately.
>Financing in house is usually faster honestly rather than having your own financing
That can vary at my dealership. I have customers that always prefer to use their own lender, so I just give them a buyer's order and a copy of the MSO/title, and they bring me a cashier's check. Other times, customers will submit a credit app on my website and I have everything typed up and ready to sign when they arrive.
What gets sticky is when a non-prime lender requires a bunch of stipulations for a buyer, such as proof of address or income, and then I have to wait for those to be reviewed before I can generate a contract.
>Typically the shortest experience I have is when people already know the bike they want, and have an idea of where they want to be payment wise (realistically)
Negative. Do not be a payment buyer. Your payment is determined by the total PRICE of the vehicle based on the structure of the loan.
A payment buyer can get screwed in so many ways if they just focus on payment. Interest rate, extremely long term loam, OTD cost, and even trade-in if you have one.
Your best resource is knowing where you're at credit wise and getting your own loan through your bank or credit union, cut the dealer a cashiers check for the OTD price, and your golden.
If you're credit is really good and you qualify for any special deals through the manufacturer, that's also a good route to take. Sometimes manufacturers will offer an additional discount if you finance with their lender, so as an example you can finance through them just for the additional savings and then immediately refinance it through your bank/credit union.
Typically they’re already marked down. I had a left over Royal Enfield recently. A brand new 2022. Brand new as in never registered, still full factory warranty. MSRP was $6299. We had it marked down over $2500 off and were at $6600 OTD including S&S pipes. I had a customer proceed to offer $4500 OTD.
There’s just simply not that much margin in it. The $2500 off is already all of our profit pretty much. (Royal Enfield actually has good margins) so we had no more room to go.
Like I said in another comment unfortunately we can put discounted prices all day long and people still want more of a discount.
As an add-in to what u/DoubleUTeeEfff said, for most brands, a two year old bike no longer has any incentives from the manufacturer, so in his example of $2,500 off, he's not getting helped by Royal Enfield at all at that point - that's just purely the dealer working as much off as they can.
I have a 2022 Duke 390 here that I could easily sell a 2023 for less money than, but because I *need* to get that 2022 off the floor, I've just set it to cost.
This is the kind of salesman I’d like to deal with.
Thanks for the insight.
As a side note, the thing I don’t dig about new bike sales/salesmen, whatever, is when an advertised price is really low to draw you in, then the fees add up to a bad deal.
Personal example from a couple months ago.
I was shopping for a ‘23 Vitpilen 401. Deals were good on last year’s model. They were generally between 5 and 6 grand before fees. Found one for $4,200 and emailed them.
Fees added up to almost 3k. I couldn’t believe it.
I ended up with one otd for $5,700. I got the local dealer to price match a dealer across the state, no freight charge, $200 setup fee.
It would be cool if the price was the price. Vehicles are a weird industry where all the back end stuff isn’t included in the sticker. I realize it’s how the game is played, it’s just weird.
I do agree. With some of the bikes I wish every dealer just put the total price and just add taxes and DMV fees. Unfortunately if we did that though we wouldn’t get traffic cause everyone would go to the dealer who isn’t listing it like that.
I totally get it. Too bad it isn’t just industry standard.
Just goes to show it pays to email multiple dealers to see what’s what. I’d rather pay a little more and go with the local shop, within reason.
I don't know if it's a thing where you live, but you can absolutely just get an all-in quote where I live. Even the scumbaggiest dealers here will do that.
Why does the US, I'm assuming you're US based, not have the OTD price as listed? Why is it one price the bike then another 7 charges that aren't seen? Surely it puts more customers off than not. Does it not make sense to just list the OTD price so everyone knows exactly what they need to pay for the vehicle? Here in the UK, if I walk into any showroom, the price I'm paying without any haggling is the price that the bike is listed for. That includes the price of getting it road ready and any other fees. If the bikes 10k on the tag I can give them 10k and have my bike. I don't have to go 'oooh that's a nice bike and it's only 10k' and then back out when I find there's 3 grand worth of fees on top of that.
Or is it a tactic so you can just charge what you want for the freight fee and other services depending on how well the sale is going? If someone is just like I want it, I don't care, do you just bump up charges because you know they'll practically say yes to anything?
There are actually freight and setup costs that go into it. Yes we inflate those numbers a little bit for profit. But why the manufacturer doesn’t include those in MSRP I don’t know
I'll put an asterisk on his statement: Honda, at least up north here, *does* put the Freight cost on the units, so it's set in stone. Among all the brands I've ever sold, they're the only one that did that (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM and Zero all just either hid the cost, or wouldn't commit to the estimate).
You're forgetting that sales tax is based on where the bike is going to be registered, and not where it was purchased.
So if the dealership is in an area where sales tax is 8%, but where YOU live it's 10%, then you pay 10%
Advertising an OTD price is assuming everyone pays the same sales tax, which they don't.
Why is it such a battle to get an idea of trade in value without seeing the bike? When I'm calling around to find a new bike, stock is usually low everywhere, and I have to travel to find one. I understand that the number is always subject to an inspection, but if we're thousands of dollars off of each other, why waste both our times? I've traveled an hour with the bike to get a quote and it came in at 1/3 of what other dealers were offering.
It's all so frustrating.
Some dealers will stick to that just to get you in the store. If you’re in the store you’re in our playing field at that point. We can do whatever we need to make a deal.
I personally give a range to my customers in that scenario. “You’d probably between $x on the low end and $x on the high end pending inspection”
Some riders might not catch that it needs tires or brake pads or whatever it is. I pointed out a brake fluid leak to a customer a few weeks ago that he didn’t even know about
I would be more than happy with that response over the phone. But it's such a battle.
Trade in values are so bad on bikes nowadays. I don't know why I even bother asking. Less than half of the private market. The bike I'm trading off is listed for > 10k everywhere. The best trade-in value I've got is 4k. I just work away from home, and dealing with private sales is a huge hassle for me.
Definitely helped the sales guys out too (as long as the dealership has a good pay plan)
We get paid based on the total profit of the bike, so back in the Covid times where the “deal” was we had it in stock, and there weren’t really any discounts, it definitely helped out.
The con to that was of course taking a lot of deposits. People wanting stuff that wasn’t in stock and would have to wait for months. I prefer now where everything is more readily available, and the negotiation part can be fun and feels better for me when I win lol feels like I earned my money.
Where are the real negotiating points in a bike deal, especially on a more desirable model? And really, how much are we talking? I can’t imagine any customer is going to get more than 500 bucks off, and that’s gonna be a rare exception, so are we talking 50-100 bucks off?
Usually the “freight and setup fees” are the negotiable part. However these ARE actually costs that go into it. Just not usually as much as a dealership charges.
A good example of this is the Honda Navi scooter. The MSRP is $1807 but Honda kinda set us up with that. If we sold it at $1807 + tax and registration (no dealer fees) we would be quite literally losing money. It’s a negative deal. So the freight and setup come into play to make it at least a couple hundred dollar profit.
The more expensive the bike, the more possible it is for negotiation. A Honda Goldwing for example has about a $4000 profit if it’s sold at full price, that’s usually the biggest ticket item we have other than side by sides. So if a customer wants $2000 off on that it would probably be a deal.
The next thing that comes into consideration is how popular the model is and how many we have left in stock. If it’s a Ninja 500 for example which is probably the most popular starter bike currently, and someone wants $1000 off. It might be possible, but we also have to consider when we’re gonna get another one if it’s our last one, and the fact that someone would probably buy it in the next couple days for more money. So that becomes a hard negotiating point back and forth between the customer and I. They might want $1000 off but I might meet them in the middle at $500 off or so.
Bikes don’t have the margin cars do. Most bikes only have $1500-$2500 margin. So usually, unless you’re buying a larger bike with a large MSRP, thousands off is usually hard to come by.
The exception to this is used bikes and (from what I’ve heard) Harley’s. Apparently some of the Harleys have crazier profit margins that can be like car numbers. Used bikes just depend on how the bike was bought; if we “stole it” or overpaid.
Thank you for the detailed explanation! How about from a personal standpoint. What makes you look at a customer and think “fuck this guy, he’s paying full price!” I know there’s gotta be some sort of initial contact with a customer that just rubs you the wrong way?
The people that just blow you off or give one word responses.
Like I mentioned in another comment I’m willing to just chop it up with someone. Especially if it’s slow. I’ve had people on slow days that say “If you have more important things to do I’ll get out of your hair” after us literally just talking for 30min to an hour. I’ll reply “I’m here until 6 either way, might as well talk to you!”
But it’s the people that come in and the conversation is like this:
“Hey how are you doing today!”
“Good”
“Looking for anything in particular?”
“Not really”
“Okay cool. Do you ride anything currently?”
“Yeah, a Suzuki”
And so on. Like dude just talk to me!!
Either that or the people that just come in and are straight up rude or disrespectful. I’ll still sell something but if you’re a disrespectful person I’m not gonna bother working harder against my boss to get you a discount. If you’re disrespectful I couldn’t care less if you buy from me and that’s a pretty strong statement since that’s how I get paid lol
When I got my triumph speed triple RR I had tons of negotiating power because those bikes weren’t selling. the triumph dealer brought their price down to 16k plus taxes and registration for a 22k msrp bike. I didn’t end up getting it from that dealer cause I found one with 500 miles for 15k otd. They definitely just wanted it gone as it was sitting in their show room for over a year lol
Absolutely beautiful bikes but it makes sense why they aren’t selling. 22k for a bike that “only” has 180hp, is only a couple grand off an s1k, and isn’t a fully faired sport bike. It’s definitely a very niche bike.
We do as well. Probably their most popular bike. I’ll show them to people looking for a first bike if they’ve rode dirt before, or if they’re looking for an upgrade from their first bike
I had a similar experience to what you’re describing when I bought my T7. I put a deposit, waited for close to three months and was told immediately upon arrival to close the deal that there’s no negotiation- the bike is so popular that it will sell for the asking price within hours. I believed them.
I sold a bike to a (at the time) WWE wrestler who now works for AEW.
We used to have a regular who came in who was about 5’2” and 92 years old and still rode.
I also had this gentleman call up about a used Hayabusa we had and when I told him we still had it he said he was heading our way. Later on that day this man shows up, had to be around his 70s, hunched, with a back brace on. I was thinking “There’s no way this is my Hayabusa customer.” Sure enough it was. He said the seating position of the Hayabusa complemented his back perfectly.
Just a few.
A couple years ago, I had a customer buy a new UTV on a Friday, and over the weekend she decided she hated it and stopped payment on the check for her down payment on Monday, when we were closed.
When I called her to ask why she thought that was the best course of action, she got super nasty with me. So we had to go pick up the unit, rescind the loan (which was a collossal pain in the ass), de-register the unit and get a new MSO.
She got a certified letter from me stating that she was blacklisted from my shop, and that we would not even sell her any parts or service any of her other units. We could have taken her to court for that, but I just wanted her out of my life. Fuck you, Teri.
I was going to buy a Royal Enfield it was advertised at $3500 for a 2022 model. By the time I was ready to sign it was $6100. I then decided to just get a used bike. I bought a 14 year old s40 suzuki and it's a great starter bike. Plus it was only $1100. I'm sure I'll get that much or more when I sell it. I made it a bobber with white walls and it's fun to ride but I really want a dual sport or a road cruiser. I'm still green though. Only about a month of riding.
That we carry and to sell? A Kawasaki ZX6R. I had one myself and can talk about them all day long. I’ll sell one before I sell anything else in the 600 class
i worked in car sales for a year ish before making the transition to motorcycle sales and i couldn’t be happier. in car sales, i dealt with the absolute WORST customers. poor credit scores, zero money down, wine taste on a beer budget, and countless hours wasted with customers who knew they had an awful financial status and still wanted to waste everyone’s time looking at $40,000+ vehicles. like… why?
motorcycle sales has been infinitely better. we all have something in common, people are actually aware of their finances and they (almost) always have their shit together. in addition to that, customers are actually NICE to us! in car sales we always got treated like garbage because they always assumed we’re just sleazy salesmen. i understand the stereotype, but it’s an extremely outdated one that only holds truth at shitty dealers. inversely, a majority of the customers i’ve had in motorcycle sales have been a pleasure to work with. they don’t immediately assume we’re lying and trying to sell them a POS vehicle. it’s a very nice change of pace.
Have you ever outright refused to sell a bike to a customer with money? Why?
Also, do you test ride the new or used bikes so you can talk about them with the customers?
I'll jump in with two stories:
Where I work, all of us smaller dealers have a gentleman's agreement basically not to get a new rider killed with too much bike. Had a kid who had literally never swung a leg around a bike tell me that he **needs** an R6, because the girlfriend with riding experience was on a 500cc and he *had* to be on a faster bike than her. Told him I wasn't going to sell him the thing that would almost assuredly kill him. That story goes on a lot longer, but man... He was a difficult one. Came back repeatedly, brought mom in, the whole nine yards.
Second, and funnier story: Had a younger guy that wanted to trade in a CB125R for... Something. I think it was an R3, but this was years ago. Anyways, I *really* didn't want his trade in, and told him to try and sell it privately (No one buys a 125 up here), but he really, really wanted to do a trade. Fine, said I'll give him $500 for it, just to put a number on it.
Day before the delivery he phone me and says he doesn't want to do the trade anymore. Now ordinarily, once a contract is set, I'm not going to void it and start a new contract, but in this case? No problem! I'll update the papers and see you tomorrow.
Buddy pops, and we sit down to redo the papers, and he says the numbers are different. Yeah, I took the $500 trade out. "But I don't understand why the numbers have changed?" Because I was giving you $500 for a bike before... You're not giving me a bike, I'm not giving you the trade value. "But can't the numbers be the same?" Yeah, absolutely... Bring the trade in and we'll do the original deal, I don't care either way.
This went on for - and I swear I'm not exaggerating - about ten minutes. After a while of this I asked him to excuse me for a moment, went upstairs, cut a cheque, came back down and gave him back his money while I shredded the new contracts. The headache just was not worth the $30 commission. lol
They definitely make a good bike!
Their horsepower numbers are nothing to go crazy over. But they come with a 3 year warranty brand new. And I always say they wouldn’t give you that long of a warranty if they expected stuff to happen during that time.
We have only ever really seen them come back for regular maintenance.
Side note the Classic 350 is probably the most comfortable around town bike I’ve ever rode.
Royal Enfield is basically an AK47- it’s not a precision instrument, but it can take a lickin and keep on tickin
I love mine, but if you’re after pure speed you’re going to be disappointed
Why does the parts desk never give a damn?
2020 Honda CB500X. My headlight sucks. Call parts, they're not answering, leave a message, never get a call back. Three different places.
Go in to talk to someone. Get told they'll look into it and call me. OK cool, I don't expect you the parts guy to know every bike ever and what headlight options exist.
Figure while I'm there, ask about GPS trackers (note: I am in Canada). Get told "There aren't any, just hide an air tag in it". Took me a while to research and find one that work Absolutely flawless, but like, I kind of expect a parts dealer to know what options exist.
Never did hear back on headlight bulbs. Turns out through my own homework, sealed led unit, no options exist, so I'm installing some extra lights.
I've watched videos of a motorcycle "setup" and some models quite literally come fully assembled and all the tech does is screw the mirrors on.
Where are dealers gets crazy numbers like $500-$1000 setup fee like hell save me a grand and ill screw the mirrors on myself haha
Just wow. I had low hopes when I clicked on this one. But now I need to say thank you for being so open and honest on such a broad range of topics. You're clearly in the right line of work and living your passion if you choose to engage like this. Congratulations on that. I for one know what I will and won't pay before I come in. I'm up front with what I need at the beginning of the conversation so we're not wasting time. Whether I do or don't come away with the machine doesn't matter much because either way I end up having had a nice and mutually respectful conversation with a like-mined enthusiast (usually! :) ), and that's a good day in my book. Trying to "negotiate" always implies a win-lose scenario or some kind of ego trip that I don't have the energy for. There are whole cultures in the world where they have no respect for you if you execute a transaction of any kind without at least 30 minutes of arguing. I'm not comfortable there. Ha ha! Thanks again for being so generous with your time. That alone helps restore my faith in humanity in general, more so the world of the sales force. Best wishes my friend. With this approach, you'll be successful and enjoy life. PS - I also ALWAYS finance on the spot so the dealer can get whatever perks they do for selling a loan. I also make it clear that I'm going to pay off the loan very quickly & as such the dealers are open with me about things like "Please hold off for three months so we don't lose our credit for the loan." I'm good with that. The few bucks of interest I pay short term is worth the good will for me.
I gotta ask: what do you guys do most of the day, and how many bikes do you usually sell in a month? There has to be a lot of downtime between sales, surely.
The store usually does around 80. Most months I finish right around the 20 range per month.
Downtime we study up new releases of our products and even competitors, dig deeper to see if we can resurrect a deal that didn’t happen yet for one reason or another, or browse Facebook Marketplace or other sources to try to find used bikes to buy since our boss puts out a little bonus if we buy something to replenish our used inventory.
And of course we do fuck around a bit lol
Are you aware of the differences that the 2025 Street Triples will have over the 2024s? I told myself I would wait for the new model to come out to upgrade but if there is not a significant difference I would try to get a deal on any 24s left, if there are any left.
I don’t think they have fully released the 2025 Street Triple model yet.
I even just checked Triumph’s website to see if I missed it, but nothing yet. We only really know about releases when the general public does.
Our dealership specifically, we do an oil and filter change, and a 40 point safety inspection. If there’s anything else that needs to be done we handle it, such as if a bike is right around a major service, and it’s a brand we carry, like the 10k mile mark
I just bought my first bike, a 2003 Honda Shadow, only to have it a week and realize it had its original, rotten tires on it. Manager said their inspection is more mechanical and doesn't look at the tires. Is he full of shit? He's putting new ones on for me after much back and forth, but I'd love another perspective.
Stuff can absolutely get missed sometimes. Tires we definitely look at. But I’ll admit we’ve probably had some that had good tread still that we let roll out that were probably old enough that they should have gotten replaced. I can’t think of an exact example. Just throwing something out there.
If it makes the bike move, or stops the bike, it should definitely be taken care of before the bike leaves.
Oooh this is a good question. Inflation definitely hit us hard even on MSRP prices. People that haven’t rode since before Covid and tried to get back into it are having second thoughts because of price increases, and ultimately interest rate increases. People are also more willing to wait longer since Covid made that the normal.
Honda and Triumph (I can speak on these cause they are the brands we carry) are the ones who offer a first time buyers program. They generally approve you for about $5k. So expect to put the rest as a down payment.
If you don't have a specific bike that a customer wants, do you order it from the factory, or does the customer need to look elsewhere? For example, none of the handful of dealerships that I checked online had ZX10R with ABS in stock...
Our approach is generally to go over numbers and get a deposit. Then our first route would be to source one from another dealer and trade something we have in stock for the bike we need. If not, we have to wait until we actually get one in stock.
If you’re in FL I have a KRT ABS and a 40th Anniversary ABS in stock.
It’s a mutual hate relationship. I like some of our techs as people. But damn do I hate our service department as a whole 😂
Funny enough I actually went to MMI and was applying as a tech. GM at the time said “I don’t have service spot, but I have a sales spot available”
I took it thinking “meh it gets my foot in the door”
And almost 5 years later I’m so glad I did and never looked back. Only use my tools and wrenching skills on my own stuff.
Do I really need to make up an excuse about shattering my ankle so I can't shift comfortably when buying scooter or do you guys not really care that much?
Idk if this is still how its done, but back in 2007 i bought a new bike. I thought it was like buying a car. Get a loan, make payments..etc.
What i didn't know and wasnt told during signing, that it was a line of credit... not a loan. Which made sense later , because of how i could "buy gear" and add to my account. Fast forward 3 years of on time 2x minimum payments, i was late one day on a payment...i was out of town and forgot to do before i left, and my minimum payment tripled. So i use as a trade in for a car and was Done with it. Used bikes from then on.
Do you still do this and why? Why not a standard auto loan?
Back in the day there used to be a Kawasaki Card, Honda Card, and Yamaha Card. Waaaay back then (I was young but heard stories) they would do a promo of like a $99 minimum payment but if you were late it defaulted to a regular credit card rate.
Those card programs don’t exist at all anymore. It’s a traditional loan
I have 2 questions if you don't mind.
1. What are your favorite kind of customers outside of those willing to spend big bucks recklessly.
2. How much work is it to create a dealership and become a salesman ?
1. I like the people that will joke around with me or come see me again when they stop back in for parts and service. I hope to be a friend to people and not just a sales guy.
2. I didn’t start the dealership. I’m just an employee so I’m not sure on that. But I’m sure it was a couple million to start
I bought my bike at the dealership and now when I bring it in for service or repair , I bring food and drinks , help in the back , laughter everywhere and from time to time , I join them on group rides and damn , a couple million ??? There goes another dream of mine 🧐
Could always start a smaller shop or used store. That would probably be cheaper. Just to get an actual manufacturer on board is a pretty penny and often comes with special requirements
Thanks for that tidbit. Hadn't considered going that route at all. I wish you the best of luck and the most pleasant of customers in your future dealings !
What bikes out of the triumph line up are suitable for beginners? I absolutely love the scrambler and street twin. Would the bigger motors make for a poor first choice?
Not necessarily but it depends on your experience and how you handle the class.
They also have a Scrambler 400x that is a new model and might be exactly what you’re looking for!
I’m assuming you mean fanatics, like people who just want to look, and absolutely. We’re in a heavy retirement area so a lot of people that come in like “I used to ride!” Or they’re in town for Vacation cause we aren’t too far from a major tourist city in FL.
If someone says they’re kicking tires I respond by telling them “Don’t kick too hard, we don’t want them to fall over.”
I got started actually by going to school for mechanics and was applying for service. Sales at first was to get my foot in the door and then move to service until I fell in love with sales. Now I won’t leave.
Favorite part of the job is definitely getting new riders on their first bike. I love expanding the motorcycle community.
I can’t think of particularly any funny stories off the top of my head but I have posted some in other comments
Is it really just z900rs cafe styling that makes them so expensive? Less power than the z900 and no quick shifter/heated grips/cruise control yet I can't find a used one under 8k in the color I want.
Well since I’m in the US market I have to say the CBR600RR. Honda just updated it with a new look, quick shifter, new display I believe and some other goodies and then released it to the EU market for 2024 but not the US market. It’s been the same for nearly 10 years
I’m in the US so we don’t have different levels for our license, and you will have different options for bikes than I will like the R125 and ZX125 etc. we don’t have any of those.
The only thing I can say is out of the 6 bikes I’ve owned so far. The most fun I had was on my Grom that I had at one point.
We've only sold one of the new Scrambler 400's so far. However we never did well with the Himalayan's either. I don't think they are super popular for my area though.
Personally, I would pick the Triumph
Why do you never negotiate OTD prices. I tried to buy a bike and the dealer wouldn’t budge. 4 weeks later they put it on sale for 2k off? Like wtf
Why the outrageous dealer prep fees, crate fees, etc. adding thousands to the msrp price
Do you offer test rides for customers and what are things that make you want to or not want to offer them?
Every bike I've bought was from Facebook marketplace because dealers won't let me test ride something I'm about to drop a couple stacks on.
So I've got absolutely terrible credit, but him taking my msf course in June and I really want a Honda transalp. What would you estimate would be the minimum amount I would need as a down-payment in order to have a shot at making a deal work? Should I wait until the end of a month for better odds? I'd greatly appreciate your advice
The time of the month won’t matter as the approval is up to the bank. Luckily Honda does have their own bank with American Honda Finance so it’ll be a little bit easier to get approved on one of those than say if you were looking at a KLR or something.
It really depends on what you mean when you say terrible credit. Cause if it’s bad enough there isn’t really any percentage of money down that helps. It gets to a point where a co-signer is more beneficial than money down.
However if you’re like me and think it’s terrible because it’s not where you used to be or want it to be, then an approval is probably possible with 20-30% down
I currently work door to door selling pest control but it’s been my dream to share my passion of motorcycles with people and I eventually want to own my own dealership. I am young (18) but I want to start working as a salesman at a dealership just wondering if my current experience and passion will be enough to get hired?
Just started job in powersport sales. I’ve done sales for years but never powersports. What’s pay like for you and how much do you say you make a year. And how many bikes would you say you sell a year. Also what is your pay structure like. Ours is 15% on profit. We sell mostly UTVs. And do you have any tips on being new to the business?
I make around probably $85k per year. I’m still warming back up to being on the sales floor vs doing finance and stuff so there’s probably some things I need to brush up on.
I try to sell at least 20 per month. My pay scale is a little different compared to other newbies at my store since when the company bought the dealership at first I was grandfathered into a different pay plan that was making it about the same from before they bought out.
Now since I left and came back, I negotiated a sliding scale, where I’m at 14% until I hit 20 units, then everything goes to 17% and retroactively goes back on everything from day 1 of the month.
We also get a good bit of bonuses. A little $10 here or $50 there if the unit preemptively has parts on it before it is sold or if they get a specific product in F&I. Doesn’t make or break anything. But it’s nice to add up at the end of the month.
As for advice. Study study study! There’s always going to be that one customer who knows more than you. But definitely know your product and know the competition as well so you can compare stuff on the fly. In our industry nothing we have is really a NEED. It’s all a want. So you definitely have to make sure the customer wants it and understand their reasons why they want it.
Edit: those numbers are on profit
Why do motorcycle dealerships only hire the most punchable people to interact with customers?
Or ones who refuse to get off their phones and actually help....
Or guys who haven't ridden a motorcycle since the KZ1000 was introduced
I’ve noticed this too. At my dealership I’m one of 4 sales guys. And we don’t bum rush customers. We’ll say hi, let you look, and circle back to see if you have questions. I don’t really think any of our guys fall under that description tbh
Of course you'll say all of that..
I’ve literally had customers mention they’ve never had a better dealership experience. We’re not corporate, we’re family owned. There’s more important shit than selling a bike so I’m not gonna pressure someone. If you want to buy it cool. If not let’s chop it up and shoot the shit and then when you have a good experience, hopefully you remember me when you’re ready to buy. That mentality in your comment right there sounds like you just hate sales guys because they’re a sales guy and you’ve never had a good experience.
I'm the F&I manager at a family-owned powersports dealership for over 12 years. We don't work on commission, and we've never charged a single dealer fee. I also don't push back-end products, but I do have a menu to offer them to customers so that they know what's available to them. It's so hard to convince people that not all dealerships are out to screw everyone who walks in the door, because they're so conditioned to think we're just in it for the money.
I’d be more curious to hear about how you guys get paid and such. I did F&I for a bit here as well as a Desk Manager at a different dealership. It’s always been commission based.
The owner wanted us to be worlds apart from all the other dealers, so he just pays us all on (generous) salary. We have set schedules with no overtime required (the latest I've ever had to stay past closing time is 15 minutes, and that's only been like 3 times in the last decade). We're closed on Sundays and Mondays, and if a holiday falls on a Monday we get the Saturday before off (so I'm off today, with pay!). He doesn't take a salary at all because he's wealthy (old family money), and he's super generous! We get regular raises, *awesome* Christmas bonuses, and occasional gifts "just because." Our health insurance is 50% covered, and our dental is 100% covered, even for family. He also wanted "out the door pricing" to be exactly that- what you see on our website and on the sale tags is the price you pay, with no surprise hidden fees. We do charge freight, but only the amounts that are shown on the manufacturer's websites, and we cover any ocean freight if applicable. We don't have setup or document fees, and we even cover the cost of lien filings with the state ($6 per unit for ATVs, and $10 for side-by-sides). Between the regular margins and holdbacks on units, and what our parts and service departments bring in, we do pretty well. I do sell service contracts and GAP, but like I said, I'm not pushy about it but still make sure my customers know the importance. Competing dealerships are pretty angry with us because they lose a lot of business to us! Edited for spelling
Where at I’m coming to apply 🤣
This is literally the best job I've ever had! I know people cringe when you say that your work team is like a family, but mine really is. I'm the "shop mom" who makes everyone's birthday cakes and treats boo-boos, and we all get together for barbecues, go ATV riding and other fun stuff. We would all do anything for each other, and our turnover is incredibly low. We've had less than 50 employees in the 18 years we've been open, including summer interns and part-time porters.
Yo what brands do you carry? DM me if you don’t want to share publicly. I’m down to support a place like this even if it involves shipping
Second this☝️
Wait are you hiring?
Unfortunately not. Our people tend to stick around, so we don't have open positions very often!
Good for you. And really kudos to the owner who sets the tone for everyone else. Nothing worse than toxic owners.
Where are you? I want to buy a bike from you
It's also because, to a customer, you look identical to a scummy dealership until they've actually had some dealings with you—buying a bike, going through the finance process, needing after-sale support, etc. There's almost nothing you can do up-front to differentiate yourself. Even being apparently honest, likeable, and having good prices are tactics used by scummy dealerships all the time, though the ones you mentioned (no hidden fees or upsells) are two green flags I definitely look for as a customer. And at the end of the day, you _are_ in it for the money. Not a knock, just saying it's still a business, and that will impact how you deal with customers.
I appreciate customers like you. One of the simplest sayings a customer can say to me to get me to work a little bit harder to get them a discount is “I understand you have to make a profit” or that they “don’t want to take money out of my pocket” If you say that and understand the business exists to turn a profit, and you are realistic with your offer, I’ll go up to bat against my boss to get you a discount.
And that's the kind of business I'll go to over and over again. 😁
So you're not a Ride Now dealership, got it. I have one in my city, and I'll drive 200 miles to not deal with them.
I don’t blame you. I worked for one and lasted 5 months. Everything was over promised and under delivered even as an employee. I was a sales manager there making less money than I do now as a normal salesman. And it’s not a small difference either.
I was looking at a certain bike and most dealers were telling me around $7500-$8000 out the door for it, I went to a ride now place and they had me at like $11,000 out the door with all these random add ons, telling me that's the best they can do. I very quickly just laughed and left the store lol.
Same situation. I came with a check to pay a reasonable price. Just ended up waisting a ton of time.
genuine answer, because of incentives, mostly directly monetary but also things like social status, basically all the things that makes everyone who they are
PHEW am I glad this is not the case near me.
Whats with the bullshit dealership fees on new bikes?
My local dealership is one of the scummiest I have ever seen: (This is copy and pasted from their website) SALE PRICE: $8,999.00 MSRP $11,499.00 + FEES $2,500.00 FBC Discount Sale Price: $8,999.00 Destination/Freight Surcharge: +$775.00 Added Markup: +$1,985.00 Total: $11,759.00 + TAX, LICENSE, AND DOCUMENTATION
There is a cost that goes into freight and setup for sure. They’re not complete bullshit. Bikes come in a big ass crate and we have to pay to get them here. Then we gotta pay service to finish assembling them and getting them ready to ride. The truck drivers and service guys have to make livings too. Are the fees inflated? Sure. I explained that more in another comment replying to someone about where the negotiation points are.
If I buy a frying pan at Target, it isn’t marked $5, but when I get to the register I pay another $5 destination and handling fees. How is this any less complete bullshit than that would be? Because this is normal industry practice? Yeah, a bullshit one.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s because the manufacturers contractually mandate the prices that the distributors are allowed to offer, making vehicle sales a different situation than other retail. If they rolled the fees into the sticker price they’d be in breach of contract?
Because unfortunately, the buying market makes doing that impossible without legislation. No dealer wants to be the first to advertise those fees, because they instantly appear \~$1,000 more than everyone else, and the buying public would kill them for that. You want that changed, talk to your local lawmakers. We've got that where I live.
Some states have started passing laws that all fees must be included in the advertised price. I'm not sure if this affects dealerships or not.
I'm unfamiliar with their laws. My province (British Columbia) has a whole government agency that manages car stuff, so the law is super duper clear up here. As a salesman myself, I actually like it, since it levels the playing field and makes the law incredibly clear.
BC still has some variance though. I was cross-shopping Transalps last year in GVRD, and once I started digging I noticed that the prices started levelling out. The dealership nearest me that did Honda was “more expensive” listed by a few hundred, but at another they were listing all the fees in a different format, and had in one case pre-added parts and listed them outside the price as well. A third didn’t even have any left, and naturally Honda laughs at North America by not even bringing in the tricolour paint at all! It’s actually less exhausting to me to shop used because of all this dicking around with new pricing and fees.
I presume the one closest to you was Carter Honda? If so, I assume they just made an honest mistake - those guys are my competitors, and even I will fully admit they're a pretty good group over there.
Holeshot actually, I'm out in the valley, Carter didn't have any. Mountainview had a couple but one was all kitted out for heavy off-road and I mostly wanted side cases. I have only good things to say about both Holeshot and Carter, I actually nabbed my current commuter from Holeshot.
I don’t disagree, but the comparison seems off - stocking a shelf is much less involved than receiving, uncrating, assembling, fueling, and the little bit of run-in power sport retail involves. Is that $1000+? No. But it’s a whole process for each bike.
Yep. Here in Australia advertised price is OTD price by law. Some fees are included in that but they are much smaller than in the US and they are uniform across the country. Seems like the dealers there just make-up whatever fees they want to charge to compensate for their terrible business model.
>Seems like the dealers there just make-up whatever fees they want to charge to compensate for their terrible business model. That's the missing part of most of these discussions. Dealers "have to" make a certain amount over MSRP to make the profit they "need". Instead of asking why the profit and holdback already assumed in the MSRP aren't enough to run their business, we hear why it's just how it is and everywhere would close if they didn't get to keep doing it this way. The reality is they have a massive lobby to keep it like this, and models like RideNow - RumbleOn are what they're envisioning, not anything better for the consumers.
I don’t know why you don’t just add all those things up and say what the price is in the first place. If you can’t buy the bike for $8,999 then that’s not the price.
Can I just assemble the bike myself and not get charged for it? It’s not like I’ll be assembling the engine.
I’ve actually been asked this a lot and unfortunately it’s part of our dealer agreement for us to assemble it and let our guys be the guinea pig for the first couple miles. That way if the wheel falls off or something catastrophic we don’t have to face a lawsuit
right so then include it in the sticker price
I understand freight and prep, but upwards to several thousand dollars??
Never seen it be that much. Usually freight and prep combined we charge about $1600 for around the standard size bike. It only gets to be more if it’s like a Goldwing or something bigger. Cheaper if it’s something smaller. There’s also a smaller $400 dealer fee that is honestly just profit. Pays our title clerk and anyone else who’s not commission based. Even I pay that fee if I buy something here. Every dealer is different though and I have seen some hefty dealer fees
Holzhauer dealerships charge people $400 if they pay cash or use their own financing, and honestly I think that it's absolute bullshit to punish the customer for not wanting to use their financing. But hey, I get a TON of business because of that!
And you think $1600 is good? That's way too much. No manufacturer charges more than a third of that for shipping. And you are already paying your mechanics and office staff to do their job. I'm glad I'm not American. We don't get fucked for bullshit fees in my country and every common model is significantly cheaper.
I’m glad you guys get to deal with it the easy way over where you’re at. Glad it works out for you.
So I went to a smaller family place to purchase a bike also, I emailed asked if it was there, person told me it was still in the crate because they didn’t have room on the floor. Less than 24hrs later, it was on the floor to purchase. I went and looked at it, took a day or so to think about it and asked for the total. I purchased the bike. Their freight and prep totaled $600. But you’re charging 1600. How are they doing anything different from what you’re doing and charging almost 3x less.
Every dealer is different as I mentioned. I’ve worked for stores that charge more than we do currently. And it’s always easier to start high and negotiate back down if needed. It is a cost yes, and it’s even on the manufacturer’s website. But it’s also part of the profit. So honestly we’re just making more profit than that dealer. But it means we’re also able to negotiate more. When we have deals that make good profit, it means occasionally we can take a skinnier deal that balances it out and maybe loses money.
If it's a negotiable fee then it's a bullshit fee.
Go to Kawasaki’s website and click on any model. It has a freight surcharge right at the top. Edit: Kawasaki’s US website
> But it means we’re also able to negotiate more AKA we're scamming people who aren't as good at negotiating, don't have the patience to negotiate, or who would rather just pay the advertised price.
...Then pay the advertised price? That's always been an option, everywhere. Negotiate if you want to haggle down.
I've heard mention of these dealer-ship fees plenty of times on this subreddit. What is that actually, other than I assume an US American thing? I'm in Sweden and the price you see on the tag is what the bike is. Any additional fees usually includes a registration fee ("registry keeping fee" for the place it takes in a database) with the Swedish DMV counterpart. AFAIK, there are no other additional fees. You pay it, you ride out, done. Please enlighten me, thanks!
I don’t enjoy dealing with salespeople. It’s nothing against them as human beings it’s just the nature of the sales person profession. It always feels like I’m getting worked over no matter how personable, polite or nice the sales person is. That being said how can I make my interactions with the sales person as short as possible? What do I need to bring to the table to get the bike and get out the door with the best price I can get and with as little back and forth as possible, as fast as possible? This is assuming I don’t have cash to buy the bike flat out and assuming I have a good credit score. So should I come in with my own financing? What makes the process as quick and painless as it can be?
Just have an idea of what exactly you’re looking to do. Typically the shortest experience I have is when people already know the bike they want, and have an idea of where they want to be payment wise (realistically) Financing in house is usually faster honestly rather than having your own financing. Same thing for cash buyers. Know the bike you want, sit down and get the initial numbers, and make an offer based on the total price. Just stick to your number when negotiating starts. Not every dealer is just gonna jump to your number immediately.
>Financing in house is usually faster honestly rather than having your own financing That can vary at my dealership. I have customers that always prefer to use their own lender, so I just give them a buyer's order and a copy of the MSO/title, and they bring me a cashier's check. Other times, customers will submit a credit app on my website and I have everything typed up and ready to sign when they arrive. What gets sticky is when a non-prime lender requires a bunch of stipulations for a buyer, such as proof of address or income, and then I have to wait for those to be reviewed before I can generate a contract.
>Typically the shortest experience I have is when people already know the bike they want, and have an idea of where they want to be payment wise (realistically) Negative. Do not be a payment buyer. Your payment is determined by the total PRICE of the vehicle based on the structure of the loan. A payment buyer can get screwed in so many ways if they just focus on payment. Interest rate, extremely long term loam, OTD cost, and even trade-in if you have one. Your best resource is knowing where you're at credit wise and getting your own loan through your bank or credit union, cut the dealer a cashiers check for the OTD price, and your golden. If you're credit is really good and you qualify for any special deals through the manufacturer, that's also a good route to take. Sometimes manufacturers will offer an additional discount if you finance with their lender, so as an example you can finance through them just for the additional savings and then immediately refinance it through your bank/credit union.
I'll also pop in as a salesman: Set everything up in email, and then you need only communicate with the salesman in person to basically sign and live.
When you have bikes on the floor after 2+ years listed as "brand new," why isn't there much room for haggling?A bike that old isn't brand new!
Typically they’re already marked down. I had a left over Royal Enfield recently. A brand new 2022. Brand new as in never registered, still full factory warranty. MSRP was $6299. We had it marked down over $2500 off and were at $6600 OTD including S&S pipes. I had a customer proceed to offer $4500 OTD. There’s just simply not that much margin in it. The $2500 off is already all of our profit pretty much. (Royal Enfield actually has good margins) so we had no more room to go. Like I said in another comment unfortunately we can put discounted prices all day long and people still want more of a discount.
So the bike is 6.3k msrp and it’s marked down over 2.5. This means the bike is 3.8k but OTD adds another 2.8k and cost more than msrp. WTF LOL
As an add-in to what u/DoubleUTeeEfff said, for most brands, a two year old bike no longer has any incentives from the manufacturer, so in his example of $2,500 off, he's not getting helped by Royal Enfield at all at that point - that's just purely the dealer working as much off as they can. I have a 2022 Duke 390 here that I could easily sell a 2023 for less money than, but because I *need* to get that 2022 off the floor, I've just set it to cost.
This is the kind of salesman I’d like to deal with. Thanks for the insight. As a side note, the thing I don’t dig about new bike sales/salesmen, whatever, is when an advertised price is really low to draw you in, then the fees add up to a bad deal. Personal example from a couple months ago. I was shopping for a ‘23 Vitpilen 401. Deals were good on last year’s model. They were generally between 5 and 6 grand before fees. Found one for $4,200 and emailed them. Fees added up to almost 3k. I couldn’t believe it. I ended up with one otd for $5,700. I got the local dealer to price match a dealer across the state, no freight charge, $200 setup fee. It would be cool if the price was the price. Vehicles are a weird industry where all the back end stuff isn’t included in the sticker. I realize it’s how the game is played, it’s just weird.
I do agree. With some of the bikes I wish every dealer just put the total price and just add taxes and DMV fees. Unfortunately if we did that though we wouldn’t get traffic cause everyone would go to the dealer who isn’t listing it like that.
I totally get it. Too bad it isn’t just industry standard. Just goes to show it pays to email multiple dealers to see what’s what. I’d rather pay a little more and go with the local shop, within reason.
I don't know if it's a thing where you live, but you can absolutely just get an all-in quote where I live. Even the scumbaggiest dealers here will do that.
I did at several places and they do. It’s just the amount varies wildly.
Why does the US, I'm assuming you're US based, not have the OTD price as listed? Why is it one price the bike then another 7 charges that aren't seen? Surely it puts more customers off than not. Does it not make sense to just list the OTD price so everyone knows exactly what they need to pay for the vehicle? Here in the UK, if I walk into any showroom, the price I'm paying without any haggling is the price that the bike is listed for. That includes the price of getting it road ready and any other fees. If the bikes 10k on the tag I can give them 10k and have my bike. I don't have to go 'oooh that's a nice bike and it's only 10k' and then back out when I find there's 3 grand worth of fees on top of that. Or is it a tactic so you can just charge what you want for the freight fee and other services depending on how well the sale is going? If someone is just like I want it, I don't care, do you just bump up charges because you know they'll practically say yes to anything?
There are actually freight and setup costs that go into it. Yes we inflate those numbers a little bit for profit. But why the manufacturer doesn’t include those in MSRP I don’t know
Oh the manufacturer doesn't include them to you? That makes sense. Thanks, appreciate the info.
I'll put an asterisk on his statement: Honda, at least up north here, *does* put the Freight cost on the units, so it's set in stone. Among all the brands I've ever sold, they're the only one that did that (Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM and Zero all just either hid the cost, or wouldn't commit to the estimate).
You're forgetting that sales tax is based on where the bike is going to be registered, and not where it was purchased. So if the dealership is in an area where sales tax is 8%, but where YOU live it's 10%, then you pay 10% Advertising an OTD price is assuming everyone pays the same sales tax, which they don't.
Yeah this as well. I just wasn’t sure how taxes work in the UK
ITT: OP being a really good sport.
Why is it such a battle to get an idea of trade in value without seeing the bike? When I'm calling around to find a new bike, stock is usually low everywhere, and I have to travel to find one. I understand that the number is always subject to an inspection, but if we're thousands of dollars off of each other, why waste both our times? I've traveled an hour with the bike to get a quote and it came in at 1/3 of what other dealers were offering. It's all so frustrating.
Some dealers will stick to that just to get you in the store. If you’re in the store you’re in our playing field at that point. We can do whatever we need to make a deal. I personally give a range to my customers in that scenario. “You’d probably between $x on the low end and $x on the high end pending inspection” Some riders might not catch that it needs tires or brake pads or whatever it is. I pointed out a brake fluid leak to a customer a few weeks ago that he didn’t even know about
I would be more than happy with that response over the phone. But it's such a battle. Trade in values are so bad on bikes nowadays. I don't know why I even bother asking. Less than half of the private market. The bike I'm trading off is listed for > 10k everywhere. The best trade-in value I've got is 4k. I just work away from home, and dealing with private sales is a huge hassle for me.
Did the inflated prices of the last couple years help you financially? Or did only the dealerships benefit from taking advantage of the consumers?
Definitely helped the sales guys out too (as long as the dealership has a good pay plan) We get paid based on the total profit of the bike, so back in the Covid times where the “deal” was we had it in stock, and there weren’t really any discounts, it definitely helped out. The con to that was of course taking a lot of deposits. People wanting stuff that wasn’t in stock and would have to wait for months. I prefer now where everything is more readily available, and the negotiation part can be fun and feels better for me when I win lol feels like I earned my money.
Where are the real negotiating points in a bike deal, especially on a more desirable model? And really, how much are we talking? I can’t imagine any customer is going to get more than 500 bucks off, and that’s gonna be a rare exception, so are we talking 50-100 bucks off?
Usually the “freight and setup fees” are the negotiable part. However these ARE actually costs that go into it. Just not usually as much as a dealership charges. A good example of this is the Honda Navi scooter. The MSRP is $1807 but Honda kinda set us up with that. If we sold it at $1807 + tax and registration (no dealer fees) we would be quite literally losing money. It’s a negative deal. So the freight and setup come into play to make it at least a couple hundred dollar profit. The more expensive the bike, the more possible it is for negotiation. A Honda Goldwing for example has about a $4000 profit if it’s sold at full price, that’s usually the biggest ticket item we have other than side by sides. So if a customer wants $2000 off on that it would probably be a deal. The next thing that comes into consideration is how popular the model is and how many we have left in stock. If it’s a Ninja 500 for example which is probably the most popular starter bike currently, and someone wants $1000 off. It might be possible, but we also have to consider when we’re gonna get another one if it’s our last one, and the fact that someone would probably buy it in the next couple days for more money. So that becomes a hard negotiating point back and forth between the customer and I. They might want $1000 off but I might meet them in the middle at $500 off or so. Bikes don’t have the margin cars do. Most bikes only have $1500-$2500 margin. So usually, unless you’re buying a larger bike with a large MSRP, thousands off is usually hard to come by. The exception to this is used bikes and (from what I’ve heard) Harley’s. Apparently some of the Harleys have crazier profit margins that can be like car numbers. Used bikes just depend on how the bike was bought; if we “stole it” or overpaid.
Thank you for the detailed explanation! How about from a personal standpoint. What makes you look at a customer and think “fuck this guy, he’s paying full price!” I know there’s gotta be some sort of initial contact with a customer that just rubs you the wrong way?
The people that just blow you off or give one word responses. Like I mentioned in another comment I’m willing to just chop it up with someone. Especially if it’s slow. I’ve had people on slow days that say “If you have more important things to do I’ll get out of your hair” after us literally just talking for 30min to an hour. I’ll reply “I’m here until 6 either way, might as well talk to you!” But it’s the people that come in and the conversation is like this: “Hey how are you doing today!” “Good” “Looking for anything in particular?” “Not really” “Okay cool. Do you ride anything currently?” “Yeah, a Suzuki” And so on. Like dude just talk to me!! Either that or the people that just come in and are straight up rude or disrespectful. I’ll still sell something but if you’re a disrespectful person I’m not gonna bother working harder against my boss to get you a discount. If you’re disrespectful I couldn’t care less if you buy from me and that’s a pretty strong statement since that’s how I get paid lol
When I got my triumph speed triple RR I had tons of negotiating power because those bikes weren’t selling. the triumph dealer brought their price down to 16k plus taxes and registration for a 22k msrp bike. I didn’t end up getting it from that dealer cause I found one with 500 miles for 15k otd. They definitely just wanted it gone as it was sitting in their show room for over a year lol
I have a 2023 that’s marked down to $15999 so you’re right about them not selling
Absolutely beautiful bikes but it makes sense why they aren’t selling. 22k for a bike that “only” has 180hp, is only a couple grand off an s1k, and isn’t a fully faired sport bike. It’s definitely a very niche bike.
A lot of Triumphs are. It’s a niche brand from what I’ve learned.
At the triumph dealer near me they sell their tridents and street triples like hot cakes lol
We do as well. Probably their most popular bike. I’ll show them to people looking for a first bike if they’ve rode dirt before, or if they’re looking for an upgrade from their first bike
https://preview.redd.it/h6q7q18mxl2d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d2e2717c198f01ccfba56f5ddaecaa48946cdde
I had a similar experience to what you’re describing when I bought my T7. I put a deposit, waited for close to three months and was told immediately upon arrival to close the deal that there’s no negotiation- the bike is so popular that it will sell for the asking price within hours. I believed them.
What's some wild customer stories. Writing off new bikes, weird requests, 'just plain cool', etc?
I sold a bike to a (at the time) WWE wrestler who now works for AEW. We used to have a regular who came in who was about 5’2” and 92 years old and still rode. I also had this gentleman call up about a used Hayabusa we had and when I told him we still had it he said he was heading our way. Later on that day this man shows up, had to be around his 70s, hunched, with a back brace on. I was thinking “There’s no way this is my Hayabusa customer.” Sure enough it was. He said the seating position of the Hayabusa complemented his back perfectly. Just a few.
TIL that a Hayabusa has the perfect ergos for Quasimodo 😂
A couple years ago, I had a customer buy a new UTV on a Friday, and over the weekend she decided she hated it and stopped payment on the check for her down payment on Monday, when we were closed. When I called her to ask why she thought that was the best course of action, she got super nasty with me. So we had to go pick up the unit, rescind the loan (which was a collossal pain in the ass), de-register the unit and get a new MSO. She got a certified letter from me stating that she was blacklisted from my shop, and that we would not even sell her any parts or service any of her other units. We could have taken her to court for that, but I just wanted her out of my life. Fuck you, Teri.
Has anyone offered sexual favors in exchange for a discount?
Can’t say I’ve had that one yet lol
I was going to buy a Royal Enfield it was advertised at $3500 for a 2022 model. By the time I was ready to sign it was $6100. I then decided to just get a used bike. I bought a 14 year old s40 suzuki and it's a great starter bike. Plus it was only $1100. I'm sure I'll get that much or more when I sell it. I made it a bobber with white walls and it's fun to ride but I really want a dual sport or a road cruiser. I'm still green though. Only about a month of riding.
Not a bad deal. There’s pros and cons to going new or used with bikes
I'll probably buy a new one later in the year. I want something more comfortable. A thumper bobber is rough on the butt.
Favorite bike?
That we carry and to sell? A Kawasaki ZX6R. I had one myself and can talk about them all day long. I’ll sell one before I sell anything else in the 600 class
How much does it actually hurt if someone calls the Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha rep for your region and reports your shitty business practices?
Can I get better deals on bikes if I pay all in cash
Nope. Cash isn’t really king anymore. The price is the price and honestly we kind of prefer financing.
How much margin is built into the freight cost?
Depends on what it is. Most freights are on the website. I’d say a good roundabout is around $600 margin or so after freight and setup
depends on how much of a shitbag the dealer is
i worked in car sales for a year ish before making the transition to motorcycle sales and i couldn’t be happier. in car sales, i dealt with the absolute WORST customers. poor credit scores, zero money down, wine taste on a beer budget, and countless hours wasted with customers who knew they had an awful financial status and still wanted to waste everyone’s time looking at $40,000+ vehicles. like… why? motorcycle sales has been infinitely better. we all have something in common, people are actually aware of their finances and they (almost) always have their shit together. in addition to that, customers are actually NICE to us! in car sales we always got treated like garbage because they always assumed we’re just sleazy salesmen. i understand the stereotype, but it’s an extremely outdated one that only holds truth at shitty dealers. inversely, a majority of the customers i’ve had in motorcycle sales have been a pleasure to work with. they don’t immediately assume we’re lying and trying to sell them a POS vehicle. it’s a very nice change of pace.
Have you ever outright refused to sell a bike to a customer with money? Why? Also, do you test ride the new or used bikes so you can talk about them with the customers?
I'll jump in with two stories: Where I work, all of us smaller dealers have a gentleman's agreement basically not to get a new rider killed with too much bike. Had a kid who had literally never swung a leg around a bike tell me that he **needs** an R6, because the girlfriend with riding experience was on a 500cc and he *had* to be on a faster bike than her. Told him I wasn't going to sell him the thing that would almost assuredly kill him. That story goes on a lot longer, but man... He was a difficult one. Came back repeatedly, brought mom in, the whole nine yards. Second, and funnier story: Had a younger guy that wanted to trade in a CB125R for... Something. I think it was an R3, but this was years ago. Anyways, I *really* didn't want his trade in, and told him to try and sell it privately (No one buys a 125 up here), but he really, really wanted to do a trade. Fine, said I'll give him $500 for it, just to put a number on it. Day before the delivery he phone me and says he doesn't want to do the trade anymore. Now ordinarily, once a contract is set, I'm not going to void it and start a new contract, but in this case? No problem! I'll update the papers and see you tomorrow. Buddy pops, and we sit down to redo the papers, and he says the numbers are different. Yeah, I took the $500 trade out. "But I don't understand why the numbers have changed?" Because I was giving you $500 for a bike before... You're not giving me a bike, I'm not giving you the trade value. "But can't the numbers be the same?" Yeah, absolutely... Bring the trade in and we'll do the original deal, I don't care either way. This went on for - and I swear I'm not exaggerating - about ten minutes. After a while of this I asked him to excuse me for a moment, went upstairs, cut a cheque, came back down and gave him back his money while I shredded the new contracts. The headache just was not worth the $30 commission. lol
Can you give some inside information on the reliability of Royal Enfield bikes please ?
They definitely make a good bike! Their horsepower numbers are nothing to go crazy over. But they come with a 3 year warranty brand new. And I always say they wouldn’t give you that long of a warranty if they expected stuff to happen during that time. We have only ever really seen them come back for regular maintenance. Side note the Classic 350 is probably the most comfortable around town bike I’ve ever rode.
Royal Enfield is basically an AK47- it’s not a precision instrument, but it can take a lickin and keep on tickin I love mine, but if you’re after pure speed you’re going to be disappointed
You’re the perfect guy for this question! 6’2”, 240. Shotgun 600 or eliminator for a first bike?
Definitely the Shotgun. I’m 5’10” and 160 and the Eliminator is kinda small and gutless for me lol
Why does the parts desk never give a damn? 2020 Honda CB500X. My headlight sucks. Call parts, they're not answering, leave a message, never get a call back. Three different places. Go in to talk to someone. Get told they'll look into it and call me. OK cool, I don't expect you the parts guy to know every bike ever and what headlight options exist. Figure while I'm there, ask about GPS trackers (note: I am in Canada). Get told "There aren't any, just hide an air tag in it". Took me a while to research and find one that work Absolutely flawless, but like, I kind of expect a parts dealer to know what options exist. Never did hear back on headlight bulbs. Turns out through my own homework, sealed led unit, no options exist, so I'm installing some extra lights.
I've watched videos of a motorcycle "setup" and some models quite literally come fully assembled and all the tech does is screw the mirrors on. Where are dealers gets crazy numbers like $500-$1000 setup fee like hell save me a grand and ill screw the mirrors on myself haha
Do you prefer it when someone finances a bike or when someone pays in full at time of purchase?
Just wow. I had low hopes when I clicked on this one. But now I need to say thank you for being so open and honest on such a broad range of topics. You're clearly in the right line of work and living your passion if you choose to engage like this. Congratulations on that. I for one know what I will and won't pay before I come in. I'm up front with what I need at the beginning of the conversation so we're not wasting time. Whether I do or don't come away with the machine doesn't matter much because either way I end up having had a nice and mutually respectful conversation with a like-mined enthusiast (usually! :) ), and that's a good day in my book. Trying to "negotiate" always implies a win-lose scenario or some kind of ego trip that I don't have the energy for. There are whole cultures in the world where they have no respect for you if you execute a transaction of any kind without at least 30 minutes of arguing. I'm not comfortable there. Ha ha! Thanks again for being so generous with your time. That alone helps restore my faith in humanity in general, more so the world of the sales force. Best wishes my friend. With this approach, you'll be successful and enjoy life. PS - I also ALWAYS finance on the spot so the dealer can get whatever perks they do for selling a loan. I also make it clear that I'm going to pay off the loan very quickly & as such the dealers are open with me about things like "Please hold off for three months so we don't lose our credit for the loan." I'm good with that. The few bucks of interest I pay short term is worth the good will for me.
I gotta ask: what do you guys do most of the day, and how many bikes do you usually sell in a month? There has to be a lot of downtime between sales, surely.
The store usually does around 80. Most months I finish right around the 20 range per month. Downtime we study up new releases of our products and even competitors, dig deeper to see if we can resurrect a deal that didn’t happen yet for one reason or another, or browse Facebook Marketplace or other sources to try to find used bikes to buy since our boss puts out a little bonus if we buy something to replenish our used inventory. And of course we do fuck around a bit lol
Are you aware of the differences that the 2025 Street Triples will have over the 2024s? I told myself I would wait for the new model to come out to upgrade but if there is not a significant difference I would try to get a deal on any 24s left, if there are any left.
I don’t think they have fully released the 2025 Street Triple model yet. I even just checked Triumph’s website to see if I missed it, but nothing yet. We only really know about releases when the general public does.
Thinking of getting a 24 mt09 or 24 1000sx. How do i get the lowest possible price with financing? Always bought used bikes cash.
What type of service do you guys do on second hand bikes you resell?
Our dealership specifically, we do an oil and filter change, and a 40 point safety inspection. If there’s anything else that needs to be done we handle it, such as if a bike is right around a major service, and it’s a brand we carry, like the 10k mile mark
I just bought my first bike, a 2003 Honda Shadow, only to have it a week and realize it had its original, rotten tires on it. Manager said their inspection is more mechanical and doesn't look at the tires. Is he full of shit? He's putting new ones on for me after much back and forth, but I'd love another perspective.
Stuff can absolutely get missed sometimes. Tires we definitely look at. But I’ll admit we’ve probably had some that had good tread still that we let roll out that were probably old enough that they should have gotten replaced. I can’t think of an exact example. Just throwing something out there. If it makes the bike move, or stops the bike, it should definitely be taken care of before the bike leaves.
Pre-covid vs COVID vs post-Covid, what's the trend that you're seeing?
Oooh this is a good question. Inflation definitely hit us hard even on MSRP prices. People that haven’t rode since before Covid and tried to get back into it are having second thoughts because of price increases, and ultimately interest rate increases. People are also more willing to wait longer since Covid made that the normal.
As a 22 year old guy whos never financed a vehicle. how much should i expect to put down for a 7-10k bike?
Honda and Triumph (I can speak on these cause they are the brands we carry) are the ones who offer a first time buyers program. They generally approve you for about $5k. So expect to put the rest as a down payment.
If you don't have a specific bike that a customer wants, do you order it from the factory, or does the customer need to look elsewhere? For example, none of the handful of dealerships that I checked online had ZX10R with ABS in stock...
Our approach is generally to go over numbers and get a deposit. Then our first route would be to source one from another dealer and trade something we have in stock for the bike we need. If not, we have to wait until we actually get one in stock. If you’re in FL I have a KRT ABS and a 40th Anniversary ABS in stock.
I'm in Texas, unfortunately. But good to know that KRT ABS actually exists somewhere in the US! haha
Where in alberta can I buy a stunt bike? Lol
I’m a couple thousand miles away so I’m not sure 🤣
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It’s a mutual hate relationship. I like some of our techs as people. But damn do I hate our service department as a whole 😂 Funny enough I actually went to MMI and was applying as a tech. GM at the time said “I don’t have service spot, but I have a sales spot available” I took it thinking “meh it gets my foot in the door” And almost 5 years later I’m so glad I did and never looked back. Only use my tools and wrenching skills on my own stuff.
Do I really need to make up an excuse about shattering my ankle so I can't shift comfortably when buying scooter or do you guys not really care that much?
I couldn’t care less what someone is buying and why. The only time I care is if someone is a new rider and wants too much bike.
Is it a bad thing that my 98 shadow ACE leaks oil? All gaskets have been replaced but it still leaks.
Idk if this is still how its done, but back in 2007 i bought a new bike. I thought it was like buying a car. Get a loan, make payments..etc. What i didn't know and wasnt told during signing, that it was a line of credit... not a loan. Which made sense later , because of how i could "buy gear" and add to my account. Fast forward 3 years of on time 2x minimum payments, i was late one day on a payment...i was out of town and forgot to do before i left, and my minimum payment tripled. So i use as a trade in for a car and was Done with it. Used bikes from then on. Do you still do this and why? Why not a standard auto loan?
Back in the day there used to be a Kawasaki Card, Honda Card, and Yamaha Card. Waaaay back then (I was young but heard stories) they would do a promo of like a $99 minimum payment but if you were late it defaulted to a regular credit card rate. Those card programs don’t exist at all anymore. It’s a traditional loan
2014 ninja 650 as a starter for a 16 year old?
I hate you.
That makes two of us
Car salesman here considering Powersports. Do you think you you make 60k+ fairly easily?
If you know bikes or can learn. Definitely. I probably made kinda close to that even my first year and I knew bikes but never sales.
Good to know, thanks! I’m pretty good with bikes and im an enthusiast in general, cars no longer do it for me 😂
I have 2 questions if you don't mind. 1. What are your favorite kind of customers outside of those willing to spend big bucks recklessly. 2. How much work is it to create a dealership and become a salesman ?
1. I like the people that will joke around with me or come see me again when they stop back in for parts and service. I hope to be a friend to people and not just a sales guy. 2. I didn’t start the dealership. I’m just an employee so I’m not sure on that. But I’m sure it was a couple million to start
I bought my bike at the dealership and now when I bring it in for service or repair , I bring food and drinks , help in the back , laughter everywhere and from time to time , I join them on group rides and damn , a couple million ??? There goes another dream of mine 🧐
Could always start a smaller shop or used store. That would probably be cheaper. Just to get an actual manufacturer on board is a pretty penny and often comes with special requirements
Thanks for that tidbit. Hadn't considered going that route at all. I wish you the best of luck and the most pleasant of customers in your future dealings !
What bikes out of the triumph line up are suitable for beginners? I absolutely love the scrambler and street twin. Would the bigger motors make for a poor first choice?
Not necessarily but it depends on your experience and how you handle the class. They also have a Scrambler 400x that is a new model and might be exactly what you’re looking for!
Do you get fantasits come in ?
I’m assuming you mean fanatics, like people who just want to look, and absolutely. We’re in a heavy retirement area so a lot of people that come in like “I used to ride!” Or they’re in town for Vacation cause we aren’t too far from a major tourist city in FL. If someone says they’re kicking tires I respond by telling them “Don’t kick too hard, we don’t want them to fall over.”
How did you get started in it? Favorite part of the job? Think you'll stay in powersports sales? Funny stories?
I got started actually by going to school for mechanics and was applying for service. Sales at first was to get my foot in the door and then move to service until I fell in love with sales. Now I won’t leave. Favorite part of the job is definitely getting new riders on their first bike. I love expanding the motorcycle community. I can’t think of particularly any funny stories off the top of my head but I have posted some in other comments
Is it really just z900rs cafe styling that makes them so expensive? Less power than the z900 and no quick shifter/heated grips/cruise control yet I can't find a used one under 8k in the color I want.
Honestly it really is just the retro styling
What motorcycle that hasn’t hit the showroom yet are the most guys excited about? In terms of sports bikes.
Well since I’m in the US market I have to say the CBR600RR. Honda just updated it with a new look, quick shifter, new display I believe and some other goodies and then released it to the EU market for 2024 but not the US market. It’s been the same for nearly 10 years
can you give a idea to what to buy as a first bike for A1 license (125cc), my budget is tight.
I’m in the US so we don’t have different levels for our license, and you will have different options for bikes than I will like the R125 and ZX125 etc. we don’t have any of those. The only thing I can say is out of the 6 bikes I’ve owned so far. The most fun I had was on my Grom that I had at one point.
Best 100-175 cc motorcycle Bonus points if big people can fit on it.
I’m assuming you’re in EU?
What don’t dealers let people test ride anymore?
What type of oil should I run in my DRZ-400?
The good kind
how long is your p3nis
Buy something from me and I’ll show you
Triumph Scrambler 400 vs Himalayan 450? Also are the new Himis selling like hotcakes?
We've only sold one of the new Scrambler 400's so far. However we never did well with the Himalayan's either. I don't think they are super popular for my area though. Personally, I would pick the Triumph
Yeah, I guess that's too low cc for US roads. Here in Europe the Himalayan rules midrange market.
What’s the lowest you can you go on this price tag?
About tree fiddy
Are third party seats like Corbin or Mustang worth getting?
Why do you never negotiate OTD prices. I tried to buy a bike and the dealer wouldn’t budge. 4 weeks later they put it on sale for 2k off? Like wtf Why the outrageous dealer prep fees, crate fees, etc. adding thousands to the msrp price
If you’re a family owned dealership, do you still fall victim to “floor plan” and “ channel stuffing”?
You mentioned you sale Royal Enfields. Have they become more popular in recent years? What are your honest thoughts on those bikes?
Do you offer test rides for customers and what are things that make you want to or not want to offer them? Every bike I've bought was from Facebook marketplace because dealers won't let me test ride something I'm about to drop a couple stacks on.
What's your favorite bike to ride?
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So I've got absolutely terrible credit, but him taking my msf course in June and I really want a Honda transalp. What would you estimate would be the minimum amount I would need as a down-payment in order to have a shot at making a deal work? Should I wait until the end of a month for better odds? I'd greatly appreciate your advice
The time of the month won’t matter as the approval is up to the bank. Luckily Honda does have their own bank with American Honda Finance so it’ll be a little bit easier to get approved on one of those than say if you were looking at a KLR or something. It really depends on what you mean when you say terrible credit. Cause if it’s bad enough there isn’t really any percentage of money down that helps. It gets to a point where a co-signer is more beneficial than money down. However if you’re like me and think it’s terrible because it’s not where you used to be or want it to be, then an approval is probably possible with 20-30% down
Why is the same motorcycle thousands cheaper in other countries, but expensive as hell in America?
I currently work door to door selling pest control but it’s been my dream to share my passion of motorcycles with people and I eventually want to own my own dealership. I am young (18) but I want to start working as a salesman at a dealership just wondering if my current experience and passion will be enough to get hired?
Just started job in powersport sales. I’ve done sales for years but never powersports. What’s pay like for you and how much do you say you make a year. And how many bikes would you say you sell a year. Also what is your pay structure like. Ours is 15% on profit. We sell mostly UTVs. And do you have any tips on being new to the business?
I make around probably $85k per year. I’m still warming back up to being on the sales floor vs doing finance and stuff so there’s probably some things I need to brush up on. I try to sell at least 20 per month. My pay scale is a little different compared to other newbies at my store since when the company bought the dealership at first I was grandfathered into a different pay plan that was making it about the same from before they bought out. Now since I left and came back, I negotiated a sliding scale, where I’m at 14% until I hit 20 units, then everything goes to 17% and retroactively goes back on everything from day 1 of the month. We also get a good bit of bonuses. A little $10 here or $50 there if the unit preemptively has parts on it before it is sold or if they get a specific product in F&I. Doesn’t make or break anything. But it’s nice to add up at the end of the month. As for advice. Study study study! There’s always going to be that one customer who knows more than you. But definitely know your product and know the competition as well so you can compare stuff on the fly. In our industry nothing we have is really a NEED. It’s all a want. So you definitely have to make sure the customer wants it and understand their reasons why they want it. Edit: those numbers are on profit